About Hong Kong photographer Kurt TONG (b.1977)

Kurt TONG became a full-time photographer in 2003. In 2006 he gained his Masters in documentary photography at the LCC and began working on much more personal projects exploring his Chinese roots and understanding of his motherland. His series ‘In Case it Rains in Heaven’ , exploring the practice of Chinese funeral offerings, has been widely exhibited . He was the winner of the Luis Valtuena International Humanitarian Photography Award with his first picture story documenting the treatment of disabled children in India. He worked for many other NGOs and covered stories from Female Infanticide to ballroom dancers. Much of his recent work incorporates elements of installation and sculptural, pushing the boundaries of the medium. E'choed Visions', a series of installation questioning the medium of photography, made its debut at the Identity Art Gallery in 2014.e, London in 2019 and Times Art Musuem in Beijing in 2020. Returning to exploring his Chinese roots, ‘Combing for Ice and Jade’, a love letter to the artist’s nanny, one of the few remaining self combed women in the world, has won him the WMA, the Punctum award at Lianzhou Foto, the Asia Reference Photo Award and the Photo Folio award at Rencontre d'Arles. In 2021, he was awarded the Prix Elysee by Musee Elysee in Switzerland.

Photo books by Kurt TONG

  • 'In Case it Rains in Heaven' (2011)
    'Combing for Ice and Jade' (2019)
    'The Queen, The Chairman and I' (2019)
    'Silencing the Wind' (2022)
    'Dear Franklin' (2022)

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'In Case It Rains in Heaven' by Kurt TONG shows the Chinese tradition of burning incense paper to influence ancestor's afterlife positively. Increasingly elaborated 'spirit money' represents the wishes of the living in an increasingly Westernized society.
18,00 € *
Using old paintings, newspaper clippings, letters & photographs, this book, 'Dear Franklin' by Kurt TONG, tells a fictional love story and immerses the reader in the history of the Chinese diaspora, from the fall of the Middle Kingdom in 1912 to the 1950s
44,00 € Weight 0.9 kg
For his photo volume 'The Queen, the Chairman and I', Kurt TONG traced his family's history. The work it reconnects him to the Hong Kong of yesteryear through his family's memories and humanizes the political-social upheavals that brought his family there
48,00 € *
'Combing for Ice and Jace' by Kurt TONG traces the history of one of China's oldest women's movements through the life of a single woman. Combing up - a ceremony involving hair braiding and ritual bathing - meant freedom for women in the Qin Dynasty.
0,00 € * Weight 0.8 kg
Exhibitions
Solo exhibitions
  • 2010: 'People’s Park/Farewell in Labrador,' Lighthouse, Wolverhampton, UK; 'Memories, Dreams'; 'Interrupted / In Case it Rains in Heaven', Photofusion, London; 'In Case it Rains in Heaven, Voirie, Biel, Schweiz as well as at Compton Verney, Warwickshire, UK
    2011: 'In Case it Rains in Heaven', Street Level, Glasgow, UK, Kemistry Gallery, London and 'The Queen, The Chairman and I', Identity Art Gallery, Hong Kong
    2012: 'In Case it Rains in Heaven', Jen Bekman Gallery, New York City and 'The Queen, The Chairman and I, The Horse Hospital, London
    2013: 'In Case it Rains in Heaven', Lange Nacht der Museen, Bestattungshaus Haller, Stuttgart; 'The Queen, The Chairman and I, Pulse, NYC, Victoria Gallery and Museum, Liverpool, sowie in der Galleri Image, Aarhus, Denmark
    2014: 'Echoed Visions', Identity Art Gallery, Hong Kong
    2015: 'Pondering Tree', Zhongshan, China
    2016: 'Threads of Sisterhood', Lumevisum, Hong Kong; 'The Queen, The Chairman and I, Impressions Gallery, Bradford, UK
    2017: 'The Queen, The Chairman and I', Regional Cultural Centre, LetterKenny, Ireland and at Ffotogallery, Cardiff, UK; 'Combing for Ice and Jade', Himalayas Art Museum, Shanghai and at Shoe Factory, Lianzhou Foto Festival, Lianzhou, China
    2018: 'In Case it Rains in Heaven', Gallery 1402, Philadelphia, USA; 'Combing for Ice and Jade', Zhongshan Art Museum, Zhongshan, China; 'The Queen, The Chairman and I', Lianzhou Photography Museum, Lianzhou China and at Rugby Art Gallery and Museum, Rugby, UK
    2019: 'Combing for Ice and Jade', Les Rencontres d’Arles, Arles, Frankreich; 'In the Dark of the Night', Dai Bing, Hong Kong
    2020: 'Combing for Ice and Jade', Paper Lab at Mai Manó House, Budapest, Hungary and as Esplanade, Singapore
    2021: 'In Case it Rains in Heaven', Departure Lounge, Luton, UK
    2024: 'Krampus', Inn Situ, Innsbruck, Austria
Group exhibitions
  • 2004: Ian Parry Scholarship, Tom Blau Gallery, London
    2005: 'Hope for Homes', Hoopers Gallery, London; 'Luis Valtuena Int. Humanitarian Photography Award touring exhibition, Including La Casa Encendida, Madrid, The Frontline Club, London
    2006: Ian Parry Scholarship Show, Getty Images Gallery, London; 'Chinese Photographers’ Association', Chengdu, China
    2007: 'Retrospective Exhibition', French Institute, Edinburgh; 'Photo Meeting', Abbaye de Neumunster, Luxembourg
    2008: 'The Butterfly Effect', 23rd Biannual ALNAP Meeting, Madrid; 'Summer Show', Host Gallery, London; 'AOP Best of the Awards Show', AOP Gallery, London; 'Jerwood Photography Awards Winners Exhibition, Jerwood Space, London
    2009: 'Jerwood Show', Impressions Gallery, Bradford and at Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Aberystwyth, Wales; '152nd International Print Exhibition', Allen & Overy, London; 'Summer Exhibition', Royal Academy, London; 'Hey! Hot Shot showcase', Jen Bekman Gallery, New York; 'Fotofest Int. Discoveries II', Vine Street Studio, Houston; 'Christmas Show', Little Black Gallery, Chelsea, London
    2010: 'Chroniques Hongkongaises', Diorama Rue Raspail, Arles, France; 'Format Festival Preview', The Front Room Gallery, London; 'Flash Forward 2010 exhibition', Flash Forward Festival, Toronto; 'Simulated Alternate Realities', 1A Space, Hong Kong; '2nd Singapore International Photography Festival', Lim Hak Tai Gallery and 2902 Gallery, Singapore; 'Pieces of a Song', Host Gallery, London; 'A Transient Life', Blindspot Gallery, Hong Kong
    2011: 'Photography and the Landscape', George and Jorgen, London; '22 Steps to the Sea', Format Festival, Derby, UK; 'Print Sales', The Photographers’ Gallery, P3 Ambika, London; 'Wish you were here', The Little Black Gallery, London; 'Flash Forward Festival', Boston; 'For You', Uno Art Space, Stuttgart; 'Open Salon', Galerie Huit, Arles, France; 'Encontros Da Imagen', Braga, Portugal
    2012: 'Open Salon', China House, Penang, Malaysia; 'Festival Circulation(s)', Gallery Côté Seine & Trianon, Paris; 'New Artists', The Photographers’ Gallery, London; 'Art Asia, Art Melbourne 2012', Melbourne; 'Anniversary Show', Identity Gallery, Hong Kong; 'Terra Cognita', Noorderlicht Festival, Museum Dr8888, The Netherlands; 'DIY: Photographers & Books', The Cleveland Museum of Art, USA; 'Pimp the Timp, Vol II', Köln; 'Flash Forward 2012', Regent Park Arts and Cultural Center, Toronto
    2013: 'Jen Bekman Gallery 10th Anniversary Show,' New York; 'China Stories', Museum of Modern Art, Tbilisi, Georgien; 'There is a Time', The Photocrafters, Hong Kong; 'Review', Identity Gallery, Hong Kong; 'Flash Forward Festival', Boston; 'The Foyer', Seoul, Korea
    2014: 'Wyng Masters Award exhibition', Innovation Gallery, Hong Kong; 'Chine Today', L’Atelier Cinq, Arles, France; 'Earth To Heaven, Medicine Wheel Productions, Boston; 'Asia Express', Brugge Foto
    2015: 'Unseen Art Fair', The Photographers’ Gallery, Amsterdam
    2016: 'Retrieved,' Chinese Culture Centre und SF Camerawork, San Francisco; 'In Case it Rains in Heaven, The Granary, Lianzhou Foto Festival, China
    2017: 'As Entertaining as Possible', Testbed 2, Chongqing, China; 'Mobility', Wyng Masters Award exhibition, Comix Home Base, Hong Kong; 'Sony World Photography Award exhibition', Somerset House, London
    2018: 'Sweet Water Bitter Earth', Picture Gallery, Bloomington, USA;
    'The Survey Show', Cattle Depot, Hong Kong
    2019: 'Potentiality', Finnish Musuem of Photography, Helsinki; 'The Abode of Anemnesis', OCAT Institute, Peking; 'Let Us Return Home', UP Gallery, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 'Kaleidoscope', Somerset House, London;  Mt Rokko International Photo Festival, Sorakuen Garden Kobe, Japan; Photo Fair, Shanghai Exhibition Centre, Shanghai; 'Dimensions of Family', Times Art Museum, Beijing
    2020: 'Summer Salon', Print Sales Gallery, The Photographers' Gallery, London; 'Moments', Up Gallery, Hsinchu, Taiwan; 'China Imagine', the Grote Kerk, Breda, The Netherlands
    2021: 'South by Southern', Jimei X Arles 2021 International Photo Festival; Art Taipei, Taiwan